The quality of toilet paper is generally decided by the quantity of plies, durability, and coarseness. Low-grade paper tends to be only 1-2-ply and can be really rough. Mid-Grade paper tends to be slightly softer and stronger than low-grade paper.

High grade (premium) paper generally has 2-4ply paper and can have the addition of creams/lotions for softness. It may also be patterned, textured or quilted to give it that luxury feel, too.

Northern Issue, in 1935, began to advertise toilet paper that was ‘splinter free’. Up until this point, it was common to have splinters in toilet roll, due to the production techniques used. St. Andrew’s Paper Mill, in the UK, launched 2-ply paper in 1942.

For the rest of the 20th Century both the ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ type of toilet paper was commonly available to buy.

The hard paper was more affordable and was very shiny on one side of it; quite often you’d find print on, such as ‘IZAL MEDICATED’, ‘NOW WASH YOUR HANDS PLEASE’ or ‘GOVERNMENT PROPERTY’ which was written on every sheet towards the perforated parts.

As the price difference decreased between the two types of paper; the soft eventually became the more popular.

This is a rare vintage roll of medicated toilet paper. This roll of toilet paper has dates ranging from 1871-1884. Photo Credit

Johnny Carson once famously used his powers of public speaking to start a panic within the public. He stated in his show ‘You know what’s disappearing from the supermarket shelves? Toilet paper… There’s an acute shortage of toilet paper in the United States.’

This prompted Americans to go and buy as much toilet roll as they could – leaving a shortage for almost a month in the United States. Following several days of shortages of toilet paper, Carson went back on air to try his best to explain it was a joke and apologized for this.

However, the damage had been done, and the supermarkets’ shelves were now empty; people still bought in bulk whenever they could find some.